The Final Week

This last week in the field was a very interesting and fun one. The first day my CT did a science lesson with the 3^rd graders including pulleys, inclined planes, etc. I came in during the middle of it, and saw how the students were thinking about these simple machines. One of the activities that the students did was draw a clubhouse and then figure out something they would want in the clubhouse. They then had to explain how they would get that object into the tree house. One of the students wanted a pop machine in her club house, so she used a pulley system to get it up there by using one of the tree branches. Even though some of these things may not be used in the real world, or they would be used in a much more complex fashion, it is good to get the students thinking about these types of things and having them try to apply them to different situations. He used some examples in the class as well so they could actually see what the simple machines looked like. There is definitely more that he can do with them with this type of lesson, and I am sure that he will. Unfortunately I will most likely not be in the class when he continues on with the activity sequence. Finally, I was able to go with the class on a field trip as they went over to MSU’s IM West for a “field day” that was being put on by one of the frat houses. It was a great way to end the year so that I could have a good time with the students, and see how they are out of the educational setting. They were able to enjoy themselves as their year comes to a close as well. However, some of the students could not come because they did complete their work on time, which was disappointing because some of the students who could not come were some of the ones that I had developed good relationships with, including my focus students. All in all, though, it was a great day for the students and interesting to see them outside of a learning environment.

Changes in Teacher Scenarios

The first activity that I would not teach is number 13 where the students go outside each night and sketch the phase of the moon. I do not like it because I did this in a previous class, and I feel that a student does not get much out of it. I would change it because it does not get the students very involved and there are better ways of having the students positively included in the classroom rather than having them do this work at home. I would change it by doing an in-class activity that covers the same material of moon phases. As we did in class, and we also covered in my previous class, you can use different materials to act out the phases of the moon. By using the flashlight as the sun and a ball as the moon, possibly with other materials, you can see the phases of the moon very easily. This gets everyone in the class involved because it can be done in small groups, and they can then have a whole class discussion where everyone reports back to the group. Again, this allows students to be actively involved in the activity, and allows them to discuss their findings with the entire class. They can also compare their ideas with the ideas of everyone else through the discussion or by discussing it in their small groups. This is a more effective inquiry process than having the students look at the moon every night.

The second activity that I would not teach is number 6 where the teacher requires the students to participate in a science fair. I do not like that the teacher requires the students to do this because it takes away from the fun of exploration and experimentation with their project. If they are forced to do, they see it as an assignment and are just doing to it for the credit. If a student does not want to a project like this, then they will likely get very little out of it. A change I would make is having it be a voluntary project for extra credit or some other incentive. I would also do a science fair type project in the classroom where the students could work in small groups on the project. This would get all the students involved without all of the pressures of completing the experiment on their own at home. This makes it a better inquire practice because the students are actively involved in the classroom where they can ask questions. They can discuss what is happening with their group members as well as the teacher, allowing them to talk about their ideas and compare them with the other students. They will overall get more from this because they are hearing multiple perspectives on the issues that are taking place. Because they are getting more chances for discussion as the project progresses, it makes for a better inquiry experience. They are actively engaged in the experience along with learning new information and discussing these ideas and findings with other classmates and the teacher.

In the Field

This week I spent a lot of time with my focus student for another class, and did not really see too much science in the classroom. My CT is still trying to catch-up on a lot of different things, so I was able to take my focus student in the hallway and work with him individually. This is extremely helpful because I am learning how the students in the class learn, especially this one student I am working with. He works so much better with me in the hall then in the classroom because he had someone there to help him when he needed it, and he had somewhere there to show they “cared.” My CT does a great job with all the students and getting them to develop in many different areas, but because he has so many struggling students he is not always able to attend to the students’ needs when they are needed. I was also able to give the student assessment tests in literacy, which was a very interesting experience because I did not do this for a while (I did similar testing the classroom last semester). The students have obviously gotten better at reading, which relates to science in many ways. The students used to have problems following directions on many of the science activities partially because they simply just could not read them at an adequate pace. Now that they can read better, they will be able to complete the science activities more effectively, which of course relates to their learning experiences. This improved reading will help all of the students in many different areas, and considering that a good portion of them came in at a kindergarten reading level, it is truly impressive how much they have improved.